Student faces charges for homemade gun on Katy campus

By Mike Glenn and Dale Lezon

Updated 11:11 am, Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Thomas Scott Barfield, 19, was arresteed in connection with an incident at Seven Lakes High School in Katy.

Photo: Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office

Thomas Scott Barfield, 19, was arresteed in connection with an...

Evacuated students stand in the football field of Seven Lakes High School after they were evacuated, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, in Katy. Officials evacuated the school to the football field after they found a suspicious package. Students were allowed to leave around 1:30 p.m., but they had to leave their cars for as the bomb squad did additional searching.
Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

Evacuated students stand in the football field of Seven Lakes High...

A crowd gathers as Katy ISD Public Information Officer Steve Sanford addresses the media in front of Seven Lakes High School, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, in Katy. Officials evacuated the school to the football field after they found a suspicious package. Students were allowed to leave around 1:30 p.m., but they had to leave their cars for as the bomb squad did additional searching.
Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

A crowd gathers as Katy ISD Public Information Officer Steve...

A crowd gathers as Katy ISD Public Information Officer Steve Sanford addresses the media in front of Seven Lakes High School, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, in Katy. Officials evacuated the school to the football field after they found a suspicious package. Students were allowed to leave around 1:30 p.m., but they had to leave their cars for as the bomb squad did additional searching.
Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

A crowd gathers as Katy ISD Public Information Officer Steve...

A crowd gathers as Katy ISD Public Information Officer Steve Sanford addresses the media in front of Seven Lakes High School, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, in Katy. Officials evacuated the school to the football field after they found a suspicious package. Students were allowed to leave around 1:30 p.m., but they had to leave their cars for as the bomb squad did additional searching.
Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

A crowd gathers as Katy ISD Public Information Officer Steve...

Students were greeted by parents after they were allowed to leave Seven Lakes High School after the school was evacuated, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, in Katy. Officials evacuated the school to the football field after they found a suspicious package. Students were allowed to leave around 1:30 p.m., but they had to leave their cars for as the bomb squad did additional searching.
Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

Students were greeted by parents after they were allowed to leave...

A crowd gathers as Katy ISD Public Information Officer Steve Sanford addresses the media in front of Seven Lakes High School, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, in Katy. Officials evacuated the school to the football field after they found a suspicious package. Students were allowed to leave around 1:30 p.m., but they had to leave their cars for as the bomb squad did additional searching.
Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

A crowd gathers as Katy ISD Public Information Officer Steve...

Students react after they were allowed to leave Seven Lakes High School after the school was evacuated, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, in Katy. Officials evacuated the school to the football field after they found a suspicious package. Students were allowed to leave around 1:30 p.m., but they had to leave their cars for as the bomb squad did additional searching.
Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

Students react after they were allowed to leave Seven Lakes High...

A Seven Lakes High School student is questioned in the back of a Katy ISD police car following the report of a 'suspicious device' found on campus. The entire campus was evacuated due to the incident. (Mike Glenn / Houston Chronicle)

Photo: Mike Glenn, Houston Chronicle

A Seven Lakes High School student is questioned in the back of a...

Seven Lakes High School students were evacuated to the baseball and football fields after a suspicious device was found at the Katy campus.

Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

Seven Lakes High School students were evacuated to the baseball and...

Students were greeted by parents after they were allowed to leave Seven Lakes High School after the school was evacuated, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, in Katy. Officials evacuated the school to the football field after they found a suspicious package. Students were allowed to leave around 1:30 p.m., but they had to leave their cars for as the bomb squad did additional searching.
Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

Students were greeted by parents after they were allowed to leave...

Students were greeted by parents after they were allowed to leave Seven Lakes High School after the school was evacuated, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, in Katy. Officials evacuated the school to the football field after they found a suspicious package. Students were allowed to leave around 1:30 p.m., but they had to leave their cars for as the bomb squad did additional searching.
Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

Students were greeted by parents after they were allowed to leave...

A Seven Lakes High School student is questioned in the back of a Katy ISD police car following the report of a 'suspicious device' found on campus. The entire campus was evacuated due to the incident. (Mike Glenn / Houston Chronicle)

Photo: Mike Glenn, Houston Chronicle

A Seven Lakes High School student is questioned in the back of a...

A police officer directs traffic out front of Seven Lakes Junior High School after the high school was evacuated, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, in Katy. Officials evacuated the school to the football field after they found a suspicious package. Students were allowed to leave around 1:30 p.m., and parents could pick them up from the junior high, but they had to leave their cars for as the bomb squad did additional searching.
Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

A police officer directs traffic out front of Seven Lakes Junior...

Authorities lock down Seven Lakes High School after the high school was evacuated, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, in Katy. Officials evacuated the school to the football field after they found a suspicious package. Students were allowed to leave around 1:30 p.m., and parents could pick them up from the junior high, but they had to leave their cars for as the bomb squad did additional searching.
Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

Authorities lock down Seven Lakes High School after the high school...

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A Seven Lakes High School student is expected to appear in court Tuesday morning to face a weapons charge after a crude firearm was discovered at the Katy campus on Monday.

Thomas Scott Barfield, 19, is charged with possession of a prohibited weapon, according to the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office. He is being held in the Fort Bend County jail.

The weapon that prompted the evacuation at the school in the 9200 block of South Fry turned out to be a homemade firearm known as a zip gun, a weapon that can be as crude as a pipe with a block of wood for a handle and a rubber band providing the power for a firing pin.

"They are things that are illegal - especially on a school campus," said Steve Stanford, spokesman for Katy Independent School District.

A rifle also was found in the trunk of the student's car in the school's parking lot, officials said.

A school staffer was told about a "security threat" - which led to a campus-wide evacuation - after a regularly scheduled fire drill at 10:05 a.m. had already sent more than 3,000 students out of the building, officials said.

The suspicious object was found in the east section of the sprawling campus. Officials initially thought the crude device could have been an explosive and a law enforcement bomb squad was called to the school.

Students were evacuated to an area near the campus baseball and football fields.

"We thought it was just another drill. We didn't think much of it," said Sanjana Madakshire, 17, a senior.

Students spent several hours waiting to return to school before district officials dismissed them at 1:30 p.m.

Madakshire said any information the students received came through word-of-mouth or their smart phones.

"They didn't tell us anything. I don't think they were sure of what to do," she said.

With the campus sealed off, police from several agencies, including FBI bomb squad agents, began sweeping the building and checking the suspicious device.